A Conservative $10,000 ETF Portfolio

Imagine for a moment that you've suddenly come into a $10,000 tax-free windfall. What would you do with that money? asks Tony Daltorio, editor of Investors Alley Premium Digest.

That's a pleasant dilemma I would run into during my nearly 20 years as a broker/advisor. Please bear in mind though that I am no longer licensed and that the following ideas are merely my thoughts on where to put your $10,000 windfall.

Number 1: Stocks

To begin with, I would place 50% or $5,000 into stocks. Fully half of that amount, or $2,500, I would put into the U.S. market.

A nice conservative play is the Wisdomtree Total Dividend Fund (DTD). It has a yield of over 2% and an expense ratio of only 0.28%. It rose almost 15% over the past year.

Of the remaining $2,500, I would split that between the developed markets of Europe and Japan and the developing markets. These markets were trashed as U.S. markets rose the past several years.

But now, economic conditions are finally picking up. And valuations are dirt cheap overseas. In Europe, for example, forward earnings multiples are the widest in five years.

For ETFs focused on the non-U.S. developed world and again sticking to dividend payers, my personal preference is the Wisdomtree International SmallCap Dividend Fund (DLS).

Its expense ratio is 0.58% and has a 3% yield. The last year saw it begin to come alive with a 13% gain and I expect much more.

For ETFs focused on the beaten-down emerging economies and that sticks with the dividend theme, there is another WisdomTree fund with a 16% return in the last year.

It is the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Quality Dividend Growth Fund (DGRE). Its expense ratio is 0.63% and has a yield in excess of 2%.

Number 2: Bonds

Next, despite the current Wall Street thinking, I would allocate 25%, or $2,500, into bonds. My favorite bond fund manager is Jeff Gundlach at DoubleLine Capital.

For broad bond market exposure, his ETF – the SPDR DoubleLine Total Return Tactical ETF (TOTL) -– is a good choice. It yields nearly 3.2% and has an expense ratio of only 0.65%.

For those more daring, DoubleLine also has an emerging markets bond fund – the SPDR DoubleLine Emerging Markets Fixed Income ETF (EMTL). The expense ratio is similar, but it has a yield of nearly 5%.

Number 3: Alternative Investments

The remaining 25%, or $2,500, I would divide evenly into alternative asset classes. The easiest alternative asset classes to access are real estate and precious metals.

In precious metals, both gold and silver are good. And will remain solid choices with so much uncertainty surrounding both central bankers and politicians globally.

A unique ETF for gold is the Van Eck Merk Gold Trust (OUNZ). It allows investors to convert their holdings into gold bullion or gold coin, if they so wish.

For real estate, a good choice for global exposure is the SPDR Dow Jones Global Real Estate ETF (RWO). The expense ratio is 0.50% and it has a yield of about 3.5%.